Fresh pace and Mendis leave India in a mess

Seven years ago, on their last tour of Sri Lanka, India went into the final Test having pulled off a huge victory at the Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy. Instead of building on it though, they were bowled out before stumps at the SSC, with Muttiah Muralitharan taking 8 for 87. Back then, Shiv Sunder Das and Sadagoppan Ramesh added 97 for the first wicket before Murali's offspinners and doosras triggered a steady slide to 234 all out.

How history repeats itself. Half an hour before lunch on the opening day at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium, India - having won a crucial toss - were 92 for 1, with Virender Sehwag having feathered an edge behind off Dammika Prasad. The near-surrender afterwards would have been depressing viewing for Indian supporters, and only a gritty last-wicket partnership of 51 between Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma gave India a half-decent total of 249.

Prasad, a strongly-built fast bowler making his debut at the age of 25, settled down after an erratic start, and produced fine deliveries to dismiss Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. He frequently nudged the speedo past 140 km/hr, peaking at 145, with just a hint of swing. On a pitch that gave the bowlers no other assistance, it was an impressive showing.

But for Gautam Gambhir, who batted superbly for his 72, no one else crossed 35, and the concerns over the middle order are now a full-fledged crisis with a Test series against Australia looming on the horizon. Rahul Dravid [80 runs], Sachin Tendulkar [81] and Sourav Ganguly [78] average less than Ishant over the five innings, and the fact that he's managed to survive 121 balls with his limited repertoire of strokes puts their efforts into stark relief.

Gambhir [284] and Sehwag [310] have scored nearly 600 between them, but it's unlikely that a two-man army will be able to thwart Sri Lanka with the series at stake. VVS Laxman and Ganguly were especially culpable today, both falling after positive starts. Laxman was drawn forward by cricket's version of the bicycle-kick - Ajantha Mendis's wonderful flicked leg-cutter - while indecision was behind the tame edge to slip that ended Ganguly's sprightly 35.

Mendis now has 23 wickets at 17.26 for the series, but you wonder just how India's batting marvels might have played him in their prime. Gambhir and Sehwag have shown the way, but those with reputations to rival the Taj Mahal appear to have forgotten even how to play from memory.

That series-decider at the SSC in 2001 finished with Sri Lanka triumphant by an innings and 77 runs. Four of their batsmen made centuries in response to India's puny total, and unless the impressive Ishant can summon up a fiery spell or two, there'll be a distinct sense of déjà vu over the weekend. 

Comments

[Punit]

Painful to admit, but changes are required. Perhaps the most important one is that of Captain. I am a huge admirer of Kumble's, but I think he lacks the innovation required to keep on top of a Test. I believe that Dhoni has put himself out of contention for a while by failing to show, so where does that leave us? Tricky, indeed.

Rather than public villification, the Fab 4 need some time to get their form back. Dropping Ganguly worked before. Time to drop Dravid, I think - just to give him time to get his mojo back. He still has plenty to give. But I also agree that India needs to start accelerating the development of the promising younger players in the ODI side to fill the eventual gaps left by the Fab 4 who will, in time, start leaving the game. I sincerely hope they can do so with their heads held high and we don't forget the great performances they have put in over their careers.

[Nick Chandrasekera]

I am Srilankan and I think India needs to bring in youngsters for the future. Also I think we might be in the presence of Genius with Mendis. He could potentially outshine both Murali and Warne as his repertoir seems to be wider. Mahela also has a very democratic leadership style and can quickly ease up tension within the team. Leadership doesn't have to be aggressive as this gentle buddhist is showing. Srilanka plays unconventional cricket with sublime talents such as Jayasuriya , Murali , Malinga and Mendis which is good for the game. This they counterbalance with classic stylists such as Jayawardena and Sangakkara. This is a small country but they hold the world records for the highest test score , highest one day score and the highest 20/20 score. As with Bradman numbers don't lie at the end.

[Peter Casie Chetty]

Don't write them off just yet. Sanath Jayasuriya proved a lot of doubters wrong. A bad patch for Collingwood not the most technical player turned rosy in two overs of muck bowled by the South Africans. Dravid, Ganguly,Tendulakar and Laxman are scalps to venerate and every bowler on the planet does his all for these. Sewag will not last as long as any of. them

[Shyam]

I think it's time for the selectors to start planning the exit of the 'fab four'. It would be catastrophic for all four to depart the team at the same time. I think Dravid's head is probably going to be the first on the chopping block. If he can muster up the courage to score a second innings century to save the game he should call it a day.
I have found it galling throughout this series when little change has been made to the batting order despite the repeated failures of the 'fab four'. I think Ganguly should be up at #3 with Laxman at #5 and Dravid at #6. Kumble has not also used his spin bowling resources (Tendulkar and Sehwag) to the full in the previous two tests. This may have been forgotten because India won the last test. The captain does not seem to realize that repeating the same unsuccessful plans is not going to make them work. Dhoni would have been more proactive.

[Sundar Radhakrishnan]

Looks like ‘End is nigh’ for the fab four. I for one feel that we should not sack any of them before the series against Aus. It may be too much to throw the youngsters in deep end. But if results are not forthcoming, we need to start phasing out the seniors. It hurts to even think, but Dravid may be the first to go (he has been having a wretched time and his decent knocks of late have all be scratchy rather than the usual Dravid ones)

Dileep, whatz your take on fab four's standing Vis-à-vis , middle orders of other teams ? We have a golden period as far as our performances abroad, but I feel they haven’t taken up the game to next notch on crunch situations. Intensity displayed on desperate situations is always not there in other times. They have the content mentality of English rather than the ever improving/learning attitude of the Aussies. We have the WC 07 debacle, also this group squandered a golden chance to win a test series in SA. Even did not dominate Eng, WI either. At home also record is decent rather than excellent. Especially at home they have let the run rate plummet multiple times after a terrific start from Sehwag. All said, India’s record has improved a lot since the 90s era and credit to them for that. They may have great records, but somehow it did not translate it to India atleast becoming the second best team of their generation (South Africa are definitely better). We even did not have a golden period of domination like Vaughan had upto Ashes 05. Even in our great run till Pak series in 04 (home wins, away Eng, Aus and WC finals), we did not dominate and infact lost heavily to NZ. So history may judge them as greatest bats together for India, but couple of other set of batsmen of their generation were much better (Waugh and Ponting’s men)

[CriketLover]

I am most perplexed about Tendulkar, not because of the runs he hasn't made, but for the extremely short duration of his stay at the crease. There are four more days of this test to go, but you are spot on when you say that unless the middle order contributes substantially in the second essay, we aren't likely to convert this to a victory

Pritam,

The Australian team has a sum total of 4 players in the current squad who have played test cricket in India before.

None of their bowlers have.. And they have no spinner..

And we have Sydney - think that should be sufficient to galvanize the team.

Cheers,

[Pritam Sinha]

I feel after a desparate or even normal victory, teams tend to relax mentally slightly and that proves their downfall. Even SA were dismissed in England after their series victory. But these are changing times for India certainly in Test matches particularly for the fab four. Australia might have enjoyed this scorecard today certainly. And as an Indian I am hoping that they might be planning so much for a furious Ashes down under that they don't plan so meticulously for India visit. Interesting times ahead for a cricket lover for sure.

[Homer]

Come now Dileep, its just one day out of 5.

And if pace and spin did India in, what are the odds that India's bowlers will end up conceding a lead in excess of 300?

This is our series to win - Keep the faith!

Cheers,